By the way, if you keep your face covered for long periods of time under a face mask...it's possible that some of the bacteria in your mouth starts breeding on your covered face. All that warmth and humidity is so ideal to fungus.

this might sound odd.. or maybe it was even mentioned already.. but i do a lot of shooting (rifle pistol) and i own a blackhawk tactical shemagh which is like some middle eastern bandanna thing common to the military.. but its huge.. and i wear that over my face like a bandanna the up side is its really large so you can fold it over several times and its nice and thick.. the thickness acts like a filter and stops a lot of the fog from creeping up to my goggles, and obviously keeps me pretty warm.. also very warm.. its nothing high tech.. just cotton

Just back from 2 weeks in Japan with my Ride Qi. On the coldest days (-15C) it struggled a little bit but otherwise I am very pleased with it. It breathes well so doesnt cause too much fogging and is just enough to keep the cold away.

By the way, if you keep your face covered for long periods of time under a face mask...it's possible that some of the bacteria in your mouth starts breeding on your covered face. All that warmth and humidity is so ideal to fungus.

Mmmmm bacteria. Well I usually wash my bandanna before fungas is allowed to grow.. I should hope others do the same.

ok guys, prepare for an image heavy entry (i apologize in advance for the unappealing looks. i'd photoshop a better looking face into the pictures, but i don't know how to use photoshop):

these are the different masks i've tried. i left out the bandana, because you guys all know what it looks like and how effective (or ineffective) they can be when riding.

Ride Qi
Price: 20 bucks
Looks: 10/10
Effectiveness: 8/10

I bought the Ride Qi after seeing it on these forums. Off the website, they looked absolutely sick, so I ordered a pair. They arrived fairly quickly, and they've been on the slopes for a ride. The entire facemask is made out of 100% polyester. First thought was that the material was really thin. A lot of the patterning is mesh, so it makes for a rather lightweight facemask. At first thought, I thought it wasn't nearly enough material to keep my face warm. The mesh material does one thing really well though: ventilation. It kept me pretty warm through the night, but as the night drew to a close and it got colder, it wasn't doing enough. The ear straps are really nifty for keeping it in place, but the velcro strap (a lot of people here bicker about) is really big, and it does get annoying.

The Airblaster Pterryclava is a really nice one-piece ski mask, with an opening for the eyes. It's stretchy enough to pull the opening down to expose your nose without any discomfort. The material is fairly thick, made out of 100% acrylic (much thicker than the Ride Qi). It's a nice looking mask, and it kept me really warm on rides. There can be saliva buildup (as with most masks), but the acrylic wicks the moisture decently. It doesn't dry as quickly as I'd like, but it's not too bad. The biggest problem I have with this is that the neck portion of the clava bottlenecks, so it can get pretty tight around the neck if you have a thicker neck.

Airblaster Pterryclava in Teal

Airblaster Pterryclava in Teal w/ goggles

Airblaster Pterryclava in Black

Buff Cyclone
Price: 40 bucks
Looks: 10/10
Effectiveness: 10/10

My go-to piece. Buff material is really light, but insanely warm. The Cyclone is a fusion of two pieces, the upper half that covers your face is the Buff material (I threw the packaging away, so I'm not sure what it's made of), and the bottom half that covers your neck is made of the Gore-Tex Windstopper fleece. The whole upper Buff half of it is long and super stretchy, so you can use it as a face mask, clava, headwarmer, or whatever you want. I just use it as a facemask that covers up to my nose. Because it's long and stretchy, you can make the mask sort of loose over your mouth, so that it doesn't press up directly against your mouth. It wicks moisture like a beast, and when it gets wet with saliva, it dries really quickly. The material is also antimicrobial, so it doesn't stink after continuous use.

Buff Cyclone

Buff Cyclone w/ goggles

*edited for picture resizing.

I figured since I went ahead and edited it anyway, I might as well post a bandana one.

Bandana
Price: Depends, but usually very cheap
Looks: Again, depends if you have decent taste
Effectiveness: 4/10